McFarlane Baxter, Chester (2026)

16/04/2026

🇬🇧 Your company sells technology for military and dual-use goods. Your sales people need to visit clients overseas. They need to talk about your products, and maybe demonstrate their capabilities.

❓️ At what point does your activity cross the threshold to needing an export licence?

✋🏻 Marketing of an export-controlled product discloses controlled information at the point where technical data [beyond general, publicly available marketing descriptions] is shared with a foreign national, whether that sharing occurs abroad or within the UK.

Controlled disclosure occurs during marketing activities when providing:

➡️ detailed technical specifications, blueprints, or diagrams;

➡️ performance characteristics that reveal the item’s, software’s, or technology’s specific military or dual-use capabilities;

➡️ engineering know-how or technical support necessary for the “development”, “production”, or “use” of the item.

🤔 If you're unsure, speak to an expert.

📧 [email protected]
☎️ 0330 043 9349 | 07955 434 980

🌐 mcfarlanebaxter.com

10/04/2026

💥 SPOILER ALERT! If you're a UK company that exports goods or services, HMRC and ECJU audits aren't entirely random 🤯

➡️ Most HMRC customs audits are triggered by specific patterns in declaration
data:

❌️ Incorrect commodity codes;
❌️ Preferential origin claims without supporting evidence;
❌️ Declared values that don't match invoices.

➡️ ECJU (Export Control Joint Unit) audits are not entirely random either, although they can sometimes seem that way. Broadly speaking, they are designed as a 3-yearly check on all companies holding export licences, but they are also driven by risk assessments and targeting.

✋🏻 Companies with high-risk ratings, frequent licence users, or those with previous compliance issues are more likely to be selected.

🚩 Previous compliance issues are amajor red flag because they often indicate deep-seated cultural, operational, or systemic failures rather than isolated incidents. Regulatory bodies, investors, and business partners view past violations as predictors of future risk, suggesting a higher likelihood of financial crimes, data breaches, or legal failures.

🤔 Maybe save yourself the headache not if, but when you get audited. Speak to an expert.

📧 [email protected]
☎️ 0330 043 9349 | 07955 434 980

🌐 mcfarlanebaxter.com

08/04/2026

🇬🇧 The UK’s defence sector is seeing a notable shift, with more SMEs stepping into the global export market than ever before.

✅️ Driven by innovation, agility, and niche capabilities, smaller firms are increasingly complementing the traditional primes, delivering cutting-edge solutions to international partners. From advanced manufacturing to cyber and AI, UK SMEs are proving they can compete, and win, on a global stage.

✋🏻 But with increasing geopolitical tensions, evolving sanctions regimes, and tighter scrutiny on dual-use technologies, the risk landscape has shifted significantly. Smaller organisations are no longer under the radar; in fact, they’re often more exposed due to limited internal compliance resources.

❌️ Failing to get export controls right can mean more than fines. It can lead to reputational damage, contract loss, and exclusion from critical supply chains. On the flip side, strong compliance builds trust with government and prime contractors, and can be a real differentiator in competitive bids.

✅️ We can audit your current capabilities and capacity in the area of export controls and compliance; we can put policy and procedure solutions in place to better manage your export compliance; and we can manage your exporting operation for you, or empower you do it yourself.

📧 [email protected]
☎️ 0330 043 9349 | 07955 434 980

🌐 mcfarlanebaxter.com

30/03/2026

➡️ Export inspections and audits are increasing significantly, driven by intensified enforcement of customs compliance, tighter border controls, and a focus on recovering unpaid taxes.

➡️ Authorities are focusing on misclassified goods, incorrect valuations, and improper use of preferential origins, with a particular rise in post- export/import audits by HMRC.

❌️ Dual-Use Goods: Inadequate awareness of controls on dual-use technology remains a major cause of breaches.

❌️ Documentation Failure: Non-compliance with license conditions and poor record- keeping are leading to increased investigations.

➡️ The Government is actively trying to recoup lost duties, taxes, and VAT. Five years after the EU exit, UK authorities are tightening control, with less leniency for errors in import/export declarations.

✅️ We can audit your current capabilities and capacities in the area of export controls and compliance; we can put policies and solutions in place to better manage your export procedures and compliance; and we can manage your exporting operation for you, or empower you do it yourself.

📧 [email protected]
☎️ 0330 043 9349 | 07955 434 980

🌐 mcfarlanebaxter.com

Address

Chester

Website

http://mcfarlanebaxter.com/

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